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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. wind — moving air
  5. spring — the season
  6. field — for sport
  7. spring — a coil
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. field — a subject
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. march — music
  13. rule — government
  14. field — farmland
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. march — the month
  17. tube — a container
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. wind — moving air
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. rule — a law
  22. march — the month
  23. tube — the underground
  24. spring — of water

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com